“Dog's breakfast”: Veteran NRL journalist slams Parramatta's culture

Veteran rugby league journalist Michelle Bishop has called the culture and environment at the Parramatta Eels a “dog’s breakfast” in the wake of the decision to sack long-time coach Brad Arthur.

Bishop has responded to criticism she had received over her comments on the Eels in recent years and spoke about Parramatta’s process in parting ways with Arthur.

“I’ll tell you what Heals I don’t think there was a lot of thought put into the whole process, I think it’s an absolute disgrace,” Bishop said on SENQ Breakfast.

“I just want to clarify… I’ve been heavily criticised by a lot of Parramatta fans saying I hate the club, I dislike Parramatta, you’ve always got something bad to say about Parramatta for some years now and that’s because I’ve known for a long time it’s a complete dog’s breakfast.

“I was right in the way, yesterday, that the club actually handled the departure of Brad Arthur.

“I feel like it’s been a marriage that’s been unstable for such a long time, I think so much has been going on behind the scenes.

“Not sure if Brad Arthur had full autonomy over all the decisions that he had to make but 11 years with some of the players he’s had, I mean some of the players on that roster, throughout some of that period, I guess there was a window that closed, when I thought that’s it and I was quite vocal about it.”

Bishop said she thought the time for Eels to be premiership contenders ended when they lost key players to other clubs after the 2022 Grand Final loss to Penrith.

“Parramatta fans thought I had it in for them but when they lost Isaiah Papali'i, Reed Mahoney – that window closed shut big time,” she said.

“The other side of this is, I’ve criticised the culture of the club… my experience from Parramatta for a long time now, it’s heartbreaking, I grew up in that Parramatta area, it’s an iconic club, we’re talking the days of Sterlo, Price and Wynn.

“But I think there’s been so much background internal fighting, people on boards trying to get positions and control… they’ve actually forgot about the front office and they’ve forgotten how to run a football club.”

Parramatta take on South Sydney on Saturday night in their first game since the sacking of Arthur.